Timing chain marks?!?!

Not sure how I like this up properly. Just swapped out the cam and I want to get it right... You guys know what these different marks mean and which one is straight up?

Pic 2

The round mark on the small sprocket is straight up the other two advance or retard the timing

A new timing chain set is like cheap insurance at this point

If you leave the marks at 6/12 o'clock dont forget to time the dist to #6 (rotor at #6 plug wire). I set the dampener marks to 15BTDC/align the magnet dead even with the reluctor tooth for an instant start. I clock the intergear so #1 plug wire is located in the OE position (forward & slightly to the pass side on a SB) which allows the wires to be the shortest lengths possible & nestle the neatest & maintains the OE standardization which helps prevent future mistakes

Just DO NOT line up the straight up dot on the crank gear that is right above the key slot. There is a grime covered dot about 2 1/2 teeth away from that dot. THAT is the dot you line up with the cam dot......image #2 that you provided by the way.

The dot, zero is supposed to be straight up, the triangle is suppose to be advanced either 2 or 4 degrees, depending on if your talking camshaft degrees or crankshaft degrees and the rectangle is suppose to be 2 or 4 degrees retarded from straight up. Never ever trust anythning made by man for racing or high performance Take the time to degree the cam in all three locations and then decide where you want the cam, checking valve to piston as well as intake lobe centers at the same time As already mentioned, DO NOT make the mistake of using the marks directly above the crankshaft keyways to align the cam sprocket with the crankshaft sprocket Good luck, let us know how you do and the results

I'm a fan of cloye's true rollers and recognize the markings.
Here's a pdf link to their markings (and others?)
http://www.cloyes.com/Images/Instruct/3%20keyway%20instructions%20%28general%29.pdf

As said, the circle/triangle/square right above the keyway is there so you can pick the right keyway for it to be straight up/advanced/or retarded. The dot(s) (like someone just barely touched it with a drill bit) further out toward the teeth are for (1) once you select the keyway for you to then (2) be able to line it up 6/12 o'clock "dot to dot". As Cab said quality control is terrible & I would definitely degree it even a stocker & it ain't hard once you grasp it. I would check VP clearance if there's even a remote chance of that being an issue & checking all 3 positions lets you know that you can ret/adv the cam later if desired with their being no chance of a collision IF you think that you might be fine tuning cam phasing at a later date and if VP clearance is real close you may have to adv/ret it right now just to get some (additional) clearance on either the intakes or the exhausts. Adv it reduces clearance on (in or ex) (I forget which) & increases it on the other & retarding does the opposite. Short version, If this is a stocker with pistons way in the hole I would degree the cam & either go straight up or advanced. If a timing set advances (or retards) the cam 4 deg you will see a 4 deg change on the degree wheel since cam adv is measured there (tho the cam itself is moved only 2 deg (but dont think about that as it will confuse you). EDIT first, get the #1 or #6 piston at TDC which'll put the crank keyway at ~1:30

A lot of aftermarket cams have a couple degrees of advance already ground in them. Check your cam card if it's not stock.

Nt being sure if this is a SB but if so you may want to invest in a Cloyes timing tensioner before you degree the cam it will help keep any slap out of the chain.
http://www.amazon.com/Cloyes-9-5387-Engine-Timing-Tensioner/dp/B0026M7VSE

You can also find it at Rockauto look at the 3.9 V6 Magnum engines, it's called a timing chain tensioner.

On my engine I couldn't use it right away, after 10K miles the chain had loosened and I could get the tensioner to work.

R.